Fifty Moments Between Mistakes and Eternity
by BrokenChosenofEva
Summary: Hikari and Kensuke shared moments together and apart, subtle and obvious, joyous and sorrowful. Fifty moments from the beginning to the end. Dedicated to another unsung pair, inspired by Tasermon's Partner. First in the "One Hundred Moments Frozen in Time" series.
1. Mistaken Sacrifices

**Neon Genesis Evangelion**  
><strong>Fifty Moments Between Mistakes and Eternity<strong>  
><strong>By BrokenChosenofEva<strong>

**0**  
><strong>0<strong>

Title: Mistaken Sacrifices  
>Prompt: set 50-C  prompts 001-010  
>Word Count: 700+<br>Rating: T  
>Summary: Fifty words, fifty memories. Fifty moments between Hikari and Kensuke. Following the two through the original series and my "Returned" AU, other AUs possible.<p>

Disclaimer: I do not own Neon Genesis Evangelion

Notes: I'm not dead/dying! I wanted to post this to show all of you I _am_ writing, just some issues and occasional plot-bunny have me otherwise occupied.  
>I decided that I wanted to do a Fifty Sentence Challenge with Hikari and Kensuke, and I hope you all enjoy! This is for you <em><strong>Tasermon's Partner<strong>_!

Part 1 of 5 for "Fifty Moments Between Horaki and Aida"

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001. Mistakes  
>Kensuke groaned in frustration, untangling yet another attempt at a bowtie, as he tried yet again to put the final touch on his tux for the formal ball Asuka and Shinji had invited him to, hoping he could get it right before he ran out of time and had to leave to pick up his date, praying Hikari didn't instantly start giggling at what he knew would be a messy knot around his neck.<p>

002. Heartfelt  
>Hikari smiled, the expression soft and endearing as she reached out and gently pulled loose Kensuke's heartfelt attempt at a bowtie and reworked it into a neat and proper shape, leaning forward and giving him a peck on the cheek before taking his arm.<p>

003. Fading Away  
>While they knew it would never truly fade, being able to reminisce about Touji without the sharp stab of pain at his loss was welcome, and they always poured an extra glass of sake for him on New Years.<p>

004. Spirit  
>While gentler and more reserved than Asuka, Hikari had just as demanding and fiery a spirit as her redheaded friend, and Kensuke admitted he was as drawn to it as a moth to flame, only hoping Touji would approve and at the same time knowing he would want his best friends to be happy with him gone.<p>

005. Choose  
>Looking back over her life Hikari knew the catalyst for all the things she was grateful for was the day she chose to befriend Touji and Kensuke, and even if she'd known all the times she'd suffer she would gladly suffer them again for the good things the three of them experienced.<p>

006. Immortal  
>Kensuke gazed at his sleeping wife, taking in every flaw and perfection, glad for the gift Shinji had given his friends when he collapsed Third Impact, and through the centuries, even though Asuka and Touji had long since wandered to parts unknown, he always reveled in the fact Hikari had stayed by his side.<p>

007. Open Your Eyes  
>Kensuke jerked awake, momentarily confused as to why before he heard the whimpering coming from the baby monitor on his bedside table, and after a quick glance to see Hikari was still sound asleep he got up and made his way into their son's room and scooped the softly crying baby out of the crib, and was soon greeted by watery brown eyes.<p>

008. Electrify  
>"Kensuke," Hikari's voice drew him out of his daze, and he locked eyes with her for a moment from his position on the kitchen floor before turning back to the electric stove with dawning realization, "Next time just flip the breaker, I don't want you dead on my floor just because you helped me install the new oven."<p>

009. Starlight  
>Whenever he had graveyard shift at NERV, Sub-Commander Aida always had a view of the Milky Way as seen from lunar orbit put up on the Main Display, the bright glow of stars filling the otherwise dimly lit Central Dogma with silver light.<p>

010. Sacrifice  
>Hearing that Touji died in a terrorist attack on Tokyo-3 while protecting Hikari was possibly the worst news he had ever heard, but the pain from that was nothing to the pain he saw haunting Hikari's eyes when he found her in the Recovery Ward in NERV after Misato had given him the news and directed him there.<p>

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A/N: Hope you enjoyed these, dear readers. I'll be adding more as I go.


	2. Honour Turned Away

**Neon Genesis Evangelion**  
><strong>Fifty Moments Between Mistakes and Eternity<strong>  
><strong>By BrokenChosenofEva<strong>

**0**  
><strong>0<strong>

Title: Honour Turned Away  
>Prompt: set 50-C  prompts 011-020  
>Word Count: 900+<br>Rating: T  
>Summary: Fifty words, fifty memories. Fifty moments between Hikari and Kensuke. Following the two through the original series and my "Returned" AU, other AUs possible.<p>

Disclaimer: I do not own Neon Genesis Evangelion

Notes: Some more for you _**Tasermon's Partner**_! A little bit more melancholic than the last one, but I hope you and everyone else likes it.

Part 2 of 5 for "Fifty Moments Between Horaki and Aida"

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011. Honour  
>Kensuke was always the odd-man-out among his friends, classmates, and coworkers, and it was never more evident since he became an adult than his new habit of wearing one of his wife's handkerchiefs tied loosely around one arm, one Bridge-Tech even comparing it to the knights of europe wearing the colours of their chosen lady.<p>

012. Bite  
>Hikari was mortified when one of her friends, a NERV technician she knew from her and Kensuke's wedding reception, teasingly mentioned the just visible bite mark that could be seen peeking over Kensuke's uniform collar.<p>

013. Commit  
>This was a day they never thought they'd see; after Touji died Hikari felt for the longest time that she would never find another love, and Kensuke had long resigned himself to bachelorhood, but as they stood side-by-side and said those final lines of a promise and committed themselves to each other, they knew it was the start of their own personal Instumentality.<p>

014. Fake  
>Kensuke fought back a grin as he held the well-made but obviously fake vase in his hand and turned to look at he and Hikari's twelve-year-old son as the boy stood with a shaky grin before him, "Well, I have to give you kudos for workmanship, but did you really think this was the better idea instead of just owning up to tripping and breaking the vase Shinji sent us from Europe?"<p>

015. Tender  
>Kensuke grinned as he watched Hikari hand their newborn son to Asuka, the redhead showing a tenderness rarely seen as she shot shy glances at Shinji beside her, laying a hand on his wife's shoulder while Shinji smiled softly back at the German woman.<p>

016. Trouble  
>Hitting the jump switch, Kensuke leaned back in the pilot's seat of the freighter-gunship and winced when he heard the light footfalls of his wife move up behind him, "You'd think, after a thousand years, that you'd listen when your wife tells you that something is going to be trouble," she spun the chair and grinned down at him, "I'd ask if you'll listen <em>next<em> time, but we both know you won't."

017. Final  
>Hikari tried and failed to hold back her tears as she watched their great-grandson laying on his hospital bed, old beyond old, while she gripped his hand and Kensuke held her from behind, "We don't hate that you don't age, you know," the man said, his own grandchildren and great-grandchildren around him, "We love you for always being here, for being wisdom we can learn from and shelters we can run to," closing his eyes, a smile on his face, he breathed his last into her mouth as she leaned in and inhaled.<p>

018. Waiting  
>The waiting was the worst, in his opinion, and he watched Hikari calmly knitting while they stayed in the Waiting Room with Asuka and Shinji's oldest while in the Delivery Room Asuka delivered their second child into a bright world.<p>

019. Awareness  
>As the sun rose outside their window awareness returned with it, filling their senses with light and sound, with the smell and feel of each other, and they opened their eyes to see each other smiling along with the dawn.<p>

020. Turn Away  
>"Uncle Ken," the soft call drew Kensuke's eyes up from his paperwork, his gaze landing on a redheaded young woman, and it was like looking into the past, "I'm Mana Ikari, Shinji and Asuka's daughter," he gave a welcoming smile, gesturing to a chair in front of his desk before speaking, "Hello Mana," she took the seat, nervous and shifting in it before she looked up, "I need some help, and my parents said if I couldn't talk to them then I could always talk to you or Aunt Hikari-" he interrupted her, smile soft, "I'd never turn away family, Mana."<p>

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A/N: Hope you enjoyed these, dear readers. I'll be adding more as I go.

I feel like I should explain my use of the word Instrumentality.

First, **Dictionary**:  
>in·stru·men·tal·i·ty<br>/ˌinstrəmənˈtalitē,-men-/

noun: instrumentality

1. the fact or quality of serving as an instrument or means to an end; agency.  
>"a corporate body can act only through the instrumentality of human beings"<p>

2. a thing that serves as an instrument or means to an end  
>plural noun: instrumentalities<p>

**NGE**:  
>In NGE it is [the forced evolution of humanity, termed the "Human Instrumentality Project", in which the souls of all mankind are merged into one.]<p>

But **for me**:  
>While Instrumentality is still the NGE definition, it is also the realization of a dream(s) or the achieving of "perfection" through the unity of two or more people. It was reached when Third Impact occurred, but Humanity rejected that false perfection. It is also achieved, as in "013. Commit", through joining with another.<p>

Kensuke and Hikari, choosing to love each other and binding themselves to each other, found the "real" Instrumentality of Mankind.

Sorry the long Author's Note, but I felt like I needed to expand on how I use and view "Instrumentality".


	3. Searching for Destiny

**Neon Genesis Evangelion**  
><strong>Fifty Moments Between Mistakes and Eternity<strong>  
><strong>By BrokenChosenofEva<strong>

**0**  
><strong>0<strong>

Title: Searching for Destiny  
>Prompt: set 50-C  prompts 021-030  
>Word Count: 900+<br>Rating: T  
>Summary: Fifty words, fifty memories. Fifty moments between Hikari and Kensuke. Following the two through the original series and my "Returned" AU, other AUs possible.<p>

Disclaimer: I do not own Neon Genesis Evangelion

Notes: Check the notes at the bottom

Part 3 of 5 for "Fifty Moments Between Horaki and Aida"

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021. Searching  
>Kensuke scrambled, searching through the pockets of his uniform for the illusive ring box, as he spotted Hikari walk into the bridge here in Central Dogma and look around; though she'd visited before to share a lunch when he couldn't leave his paperwork up on the Commander's Loft she'd never really had a reason to be down near the crew stations like now, and spotting him she arched a delicate eyebrow and made straight for him.<p>

022. Hands of Fate  
>Kensuke had always thought that people who used "Fate" as the reason things happened were simply under-educated or looking for an excuse or something to blame, but as he watched Hikari hold their newborn in her tired arms while staring at the little baby with awe in her eyes, he wondered for the first time if maybe there was something more to it after all.<p>

023. Irresistable  
>Hikari couldn't stop the giggle as she watched Kensuke nervously walk out of their bathroom in his new trunks and looking so embarrassed, more than when they'd been children on the beach at Okinawa, and decided as a blush flooded her cheeks that her husband looked almost irresistably handsome.<p>

024. Easy  
>He thought the planning for everything was easy, as NERV's Sub-Commander planning was what he did, but as he placed the ring on her finger he knew that <em>this<em> was the easiest decision he'd ever made.

025. Breathing  
>When their first child grew old and they remained ageless Hikari started what became tradition for her, when one of their children was on their death-bed she would be by their side if she could, and when they exhaled their last she would take in that breath, accepting -in her mind, and later the minds of the rest of their family- the essence of their life back into herself, silently promising to always remember them.<p>

026. Stumble  
>As he slammed the front door and heard an echoing slam from inside the house that must have been their bedroom door, Kensuke sighed in frustration and regret, he hated fighting with Hikari, all the more because they rarely had real arguments, but they both knew it was the stumbling of new "legs" as they learned to walk together, and what was important was that they got back up and kept walking.<p>

027. Fighting  
>Hikari hated fighting, it never sat right with her despite or because of her aggressive "Class Leader" persona, but as she threw her EVA forward to help her friend fend off the MP-EVAs she thought she knew a little better why Asuka and Touji enjoyed the rush it gave to hit something.<p>

028. Closing In  
>Kensuke didn't think he'd ever been more scared in his entire life to this point as the rumbles reverberated through the shelter and gradually grew louder, the idea of being trapped in the concrete bunker far worse than the time Unit-One's fingers had landed on either side of him and Touji when he had convinced his Jock friend to help him get outside to watch Shinji fight one of the Angels.<p>

029. Involved  
>Hikari felt like her whole body turned red the first time Misato asked her if she was involved with the Sub-Commander, Kensuke Aida, shortly after Shinji returned to them, and it must have been an amusing reaction if the older woman's laughter was anything to go by, though to be fair the way she had asked sounded so full of sexual innuendos she almost couldn't stop her nearly instinctive denial of any inappropriate behavior.<p>

030. Destiny  
>"Do you think this is what we were meant to do?" Kensuke turned at his wife's voice, watching Hikari hold their most recent addition, the little baby boy squirming in her arms as he tried to look around, "A thousand years, Hikari, wandering the planet and now the stars," she watched him as he spoke, seeing the smile on his lips reach his eyes, "I don't believe in destiny, not really, but I'd not change our fate for anything."<p>

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A/N: Okay, I wanted to address Reviewer "Nathaniel Sommerfield" and his question "Are they Immortal?". In short, all the Eva Pilots as well as the few people Shinji was close too are immortal. They will not die from age, but are otherwise normal humans. I'll only follow Hikari and Kensuke for that AU, obviously, but other might show up.

Prompt 25. Breathing was the easiest of these, I knew I wanted to expand on the Immortality AU properly introduced in chapter 2, and this was the perfect prompt.

I'm actually considering writing a story about Hikari and Kensuke being immortal, no purpose other than to follow them through the centuries, probably include visits with Asuka and Shinji. If you've read "Returned", you know Touji died a few years after Third Impact. While I'd love to use Asuka and _Touji_, my favorite non-canon couple, but I'm using "Returned" as the seed.


	4. Sweetly Harmless

**Neon Genesis Evangelion**  
><strong>Fifty Moments Between Mistakes and Eternity<strong>  
><strong>By BrokenChosenofEva<strong>

**0**  
><strong>0<strong>

Title: Sweetly Harmless  
>Prompt: set 50-C  prompts 031-040  
>Word Count: 950+<br>Rating: T  
>Summary: Fifty words, fifty memories. Fifty moments between Hikari and Kensuke. Following the two through the original series and my "Returned" AU, other AUs possible.<p>

Disclaimer: I do not own Neon Genesis Evangelion

Notes: **Tasermon's Partner**, you are the best!

Part 4 of 5 for "Fifty Moments Between Horaki and Aida"

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031. Sweet  
>"That's very sweet of you, Ken," Hikari turned and placed the flowers on the counter, planning to dig out an old vase to put them in later, and turned back to the man at her door and gesturing him in, "Dinner's almost ready, did you bring the movie?" Kensuke stepped in and smiled, holding up -of course- an action film.<p>

032. Calling  
>"NERV got the ping, so Asuka and Touji should be waiting at Terra's Cafe when we get there," at Kensuke's words Hikari stood with their newborn in her arms, calling back into the ship for their older child to get changed, "I'll make sure Mari actually gets dressed, let me know when we get the clearance to land," This would prove to be an adventure, Kensuke knew, as Asuka and Shinji didn't know he and Hikari had another child while they roamed the stars, but it would be a welcome call home.<p>

033. Nightmare  
>Sometimes Hikari would wake up choking on a scream or sobbing, nightmare-twisted memories of the massive terrorist attack on Tokyo-3 clouding her awareness until one of her sisters -and later Kensuke- pulled her close and gently hushed her, calmly reminding Hikari that she was safe, patiently waiting for the crying to calm even as tears of their own fell from their tightly shut eyes.<p>

034. Flat  
>Kensuke could not believe his eyes as he watched Hikari step out of her room and down the hall, the conservative dress was stunning on her in a way that caught his breath and stilled his heart, and without thinking he voiced the first thought on his mind, "If beautiful was a punch, I'd be knocked flat," which had his cheeks a flaming red as she giggled nearly uncontrollably.<p>

035. Superstar  
>Hikari blinked, listening as she walked up to the door of their apartment as the faint sound of music filtered out, and opening the door she was greeted by the sound of a current popular song playing and nearly drowned out by the enthusiastic calls of her and Kensuke's five-year-old daughter attempting to out-sing the superstar on the radio with a toy microphone in her little hands, their seven-year-old son trying to look put-upon but obviously enjoying it and awaiting his turn if the matching toy mike in his hand was any indication.<p>

036. Spider Web  
>The shriek behind him started what felt like years from his life, and Kensuke whipped around with the flashlight only to find Hikari swatting at a cobweb hanging from one of the rafters in their attic.<p>

037. Haunted  
>Once a year Kensuke would sit on his balcony, a beer in one hand and a sheet of names in the other, and for every dead friend on that piece of paper he would take a drink, savoring the memories each name recalled for a few minutes before saying the next name, always reading the same name last and pouring a single shot of saké to go with it; the haunted look in his eyes from all the names before this one was matched by the haunted look in Hikari's eyes at just this one name, Touji.<p>

038. Rich  
>Though Hikari knew her job at her café and Kensuke's salary as a Sub-Commander meant a very cushy income, she never thought of them as rich like other people did; money didn't mean much to her like it might have once in her life, not when she could look into the smiling faces of her children and husband and feel that they alone made her the richest woman on Earth.<p>

039. Everybody  
>Having all their friends over for the New Years party was both a massive blessing and stressful, for while they loved all of them neither of them like crowds; the value in the collection of people was in being surrounded by those friends, and not in how many were with them at the same time; they'd have felt happy even if only one person arrived to celebrate with them.<p>

040. Meant No Harm  
>Kensuke kept his derisive comments to himself while Misato negotiated with the Anti-Humanity terrorists on the Main Display, scoffing internally at the claim that they meant no harm, recalling what they'd done years ago in Tokyo-3 that resulted in hundreds of deaths, including Touji's; Misato was the calm rock in their command duo for this, as he wouldn't have given the group holding Tokyo-2's city council hostage anything more than his middle finger and a bullet.<p>

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A/N: Prompt 032. Calling ties in with Prompt 035. Doctor over in my Asuka/Touji challenge.

Just to point out: Whenever the clip implies or points out that they are in the future, any children with them really are the age said or implied. Hikari and Kensuke, despite having watched their children, grandchildren, and so on grow old and die while they live on locked in their thirties, still have children. They believe that the joy of children outweighs the heartache of losing them. They would rather have known them and lost them, than never know them at all. Asuka and Shinji also still have kids, but far rarer than Hikari and Kensuke do, as the loss for them is much more painful in their minds than in the other couple's.


	5. Apple of Eternity

**Neon Genesis Evangelion**  
><strong>Fifty Moments Between Mistakes and Eternity<strong>  
><strong>By BrokenChosenofEva<strong>

**0**  
><strong>0<strong>

Title: Apple of Eternity  
>Prompt: set 50-C  prompts 051-050  
>Word Count: 900+<br>Rating: T  
>Summary: Fifty words, fifty memories. Fifty moments between Hikari and Kensuke. Following the two through the original series and my "Returned" AU, other AUs possible.<p>

Disclaimer: I do not own Neon Genesis Evangelion

Notes: **Tasermon's Partner**, you are the best! To you and all the other readers: Check the A/N at the end.

Part 5 of 5 for "Fifty Moments Between Horaki and Aida"

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041. Apple  
>Kensuke cut the apple into neat slices, setting them on a pair of small plates to hand to their two kids while they worked on homework, glancing over his shoulder at Hikari while she hummed and continued to prepare dinner, smiling to himself as he recognized the song from their favorite movie.<p>

042. Darling  
>Hikari couldn't decide if she should giggle or not, reading the short clumsy poem over again, and smiling softly at Kensuke's signature near the bottom, touched by this new habit he had of leaving short notes, quotes, and the rare rhyme around her kitchen before he left for his shift at NERV every day.<p>

043. Name  
>Names where important things, they connected you to your parents first, and later to others as they learned your name and you learned theirs, connecting you to your past and claiming your future; so when Hikari asked if they could name their most recent daughter after Touji's now centuries dead sister, Kensuke found he couldn't say no.<p>

044. By My Side  
>Through their travels and misadventures, from the end of the Angel War to the present, Hikari was always glad for Kensuke's near constant presence by her side, consistently offering his time and energy.<p>

045. Mountains  
>The mountains around Tokyo-3 were beautiful in the fall, the mix of colors eye-catching to anyone who travelled the slopes and terraces, but Hikari's favorite place was next to an ancient oak that overlooked the city and faced the setting sun with the mountain behind them.<p>

046. Writer's Choice "New Year"  
>For a long time New Years was a painful thing to think about, lacking any celebration for either Kensuke or Hikari, always reminding them that one of their trio was no longer able to enjoy it with them, but in recent years they'd found a newer point of view, looking at the new year as another chance to live fully and remember fondly the good they had in the times gone by.<p>

047. Writer's Choice "Library"  
>Hikari had to laugh when she finally found Kensuke asleep at a desk in the College Library, the young man's glasses at a roguish angle on his face with his left ear planted firmly in the pages of a text-book like he could hear it whispering to him in his sleep, and fondly recalled other occasions where she'd found her two friends dozing during study group back in high school.<p>

048. Writer's Choice "Angel"  
>Kensuke wondered if this was what <em>real<em> angels looked like, staring in awe as Hikari walked down the aisle in her shimmering white wedding dress, her train spread out behind her, held by her two sisters and looking for all the world like folded wings following her.

049. Writer's Choice "Falling"  
>In the dream Hikari felt like she was falling, but not the terrifying fall with pain at the end, an exhilarating rush filling her as the sensation of falling caused her heart to skip, and she could feel someone falling with her, drifting close to her and wrapping her in strong arms; she called out his name excitedly, knowing who it was even without the flash of glasses in the corner of her vision, and thought she heard an echoing call back that filled her so full of joy she thought she would burst.<p>

050. Writer's Choice "Eternity"  
>They watched as Earth's night side lit up with a billion sparkling city lights, a shimmering diamond hung in the vastness of space, recalling nights spent on a mountainside watching a fortress city transition from skeletal outline to glowing jewel below them, time feeling like it came to a stop and stretching out before them, and together they waited for the next second to hit and time to once again carry them into the eternity before them.<p>

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A/N: End of the road for now, dear readers, hope you all enjoyed the trip.  
>Especially you, <strong>Tasermon's Partner<strong>, my Dearest Reader. Your reviews were a massive boost to my inspiration and soul. I'm so glad you enjoyed them.

I truly enjoyed writing these glimpses of Kensuke and Hikari, perhaps more than what I wrote for Asuka and Touji. I honestly never expected to fall in love with the pairing like I did with Asuka and Touji, and it was a wonderful surprise for me. I found myself wishing for more as I finished this, grinning like an idiot when I reread the finished work.

Will I wrote more Kensuke and Hikari? Oh yes, I can't leave them now. I might try for a chapter collection similar to "Collision: Love to Annoy", but it won't be the same scattered collection that "C:LtA" is. I'll want to focus on them going from "Returned" through the next thousand years, expanding some on the various glimpses seen here in "Between Mistakes and Eternity". Will it be soon? Or fast? No, but it _will_ happen, dear readers.


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